Locomotive front end.



L. G. MOONEY.

LOUOMOTIVE FRONT END.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 25. 19,10.

Patented May 21, 1912.

. COLUMBIA LAWRENCE C. MOONEY, OF MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA.

LOCOMOTIVE FRONT END.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1912.

Application filed May 25, 1910. Serial No. 563,441.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAWRENCE C. MOONEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at- Montgomery, in the county of Montgomery and State ofAlabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in LocomotiveFront Ends, of which the following is a specification.

This invention comprehends certain new and useful improvements in frontends of smoke arches of locomotives, and the invention has for itsprimary object an improved construction of front end which will tend topromote combustion in the operation of burning the fuel, which willproduce economy in the consumption of the fuel, and which will tend atall times to keep the smoke box hot and exclude cold air which has atendency to sweep down the stack into the box.

lVith these and other objects in view as will more fully appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions,arrangements and combinations of the parts that I shall hereinafterfully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a locomotive front endembodying the improvements of my invention and, Fig. 2 is a transversesectional view thereof.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the smoke box or archof a locomotive, the same being of any construction, type or designexcept as hereinafter noted, 2 designates the smoke stack which 1smounted on the base or saddle 3 and secured thereto and to the top ofthe arch or smoke box as by bolts 3 which extend through the base andthrough the lugs 2 cast on the stack 2 at the lower edge thereof. Thebase 3 of the stack is provided with a tubular downward extension 4 ofany desired shape and length, said extension being formed at its loweredge with an outstanding flange 5 by which it is bolted to acorresponding fiange 6 formed on the upper edge of the upper section 7of an updraft plpe.

It is to be noted that the base of the smoke stack embodying the parts 3and 4, is so constructed and arranged that economics are effected infitting and applying it to the smoke arch and that the bolt constructionthat fastens the smoke stack passes through the lugs of the stack baseor saddle 3 and fastens it firmly to the smoke arch sheil, therebyforming a close joint on the arc I have found by actual practice thatthe ordinary long tapered draft pipe or petticoat or lift pipesheretofore used have proven to be very extravagant in the matter ofconsumption of fuel. \Vith this in view, I have provided novel means forcontrolling the draft while the engine is rolling and not working steam,the specific means employed in the present embodiment of the inventionfor this purpose being a short conical section 8 flaring outwardly fromthe lower end of the upper section of the updraft pipe. Projecting intothe flared portion 8 of the section 7 is a frusto-conical thimble 9, theupper open end of which is of the same size or area as the lower end ofsaid section 7, and spaced therefrom to form a substantially annularpassageway 9 between the thimble and the flared portion 8. VVeb-blocks1O connect the thimble or lower section 9 permanently to the uppersection 7 of the updraft pipe. This annular passage ispro vided for thepurpose of admitting by suction air and gases exterior of the th'un'oleinto the updraft pipe, which will commingle with the column of air orvapor that is constantly drawn upward through the bottom of said pipeand thimble by the action of the exhaust thus producing the suction.From the fact that the inner diameter of the upper end of the t-himble 9is the same as the inner diameter of the lower end of the pipe 7, thesuction produced by the upward current through the updraft pipe willcause the air and gases entering through the annular passage-way 9*toconverge and thereby impede the draft on the fire to a great extent,and act as an automatic damper therefor.

It is one of the objects of my invention to divide the smoke arch intotwo chambers, namely, the lower chamber or draft space A and an uppergas or vacuum chamber B, the same being separated on a longitudinal linesomewhere near the center of the arch by a substantially horizontaldividing crown sheet 12, here shown as slightly arched but which may bemade flat. At its rear edge, the crown sheet is secured to atransversely extending and rearwardly and upwardly inclined plate 13 andat its forward edge the crown sheet is connected to an upwardly andforwardly inclined plate 14 provided with a man hole covered by screen15, as clearly illustrated in the drawing. It is to be particularlynoted that the man hole over which the screen 15 extends is not designedto act, nor does it act as a draft opening on the fire because there isnot the proper relation between its posit-i011 and the boiler fiues. Theonly use for this manhole is to afford a convenient means for enteringthe top chamber or to inspect the condition of the same through thescreen.

The rear end of the upper chamber B is partly formed by the diaphragm ordeflecting sheet 13, which excludes the cold air from the flues, andwhich is provided preferably with a draft sheet 17 on its lower edge,said draft sheet extending transversely of the smoke box and is providedwith slots 17 through which bolts 17 pass for the purpose of fasteningthe draft sheet 17 to the deflecting sheet 13. By loosening these boltsthe draft sheet may be raised and lowered as much as desired ornecessary and then fastened, thus holding the draft sheet firmly inplace.

The thimble 9, which as previously stated, projects downwardly throughan opening 12 larger than said thimble formed in the crownsheet 12, andextends into the chamber or space A, terminates at such a distance fromthe top or outlet of the exhaust nozzle that the gases, smoke andproducts of combustion may enter the smoke stack withoutobstructionaround the exhaust noz- 'zle, either by natural draft or bythe force draft of the exhaust. The thimble 9 projects into a nettingbasket 16 made in the form of a thimble, fastened at its top to theunderside of the crown sheet 12 and at its bottom to a flange formed onthe exhaust nozzle, and serving as a spark arrester. The spark arrester16 is larger than the thimble 9 and entirely surrounds that portion ofthe thimble extending below the crown plate 12, so that smoke and gasesfrom the furnace may pass readily through its walls and bottom aroundthe exhaust nozzle.

18 designates a spark breaker which may be of any desired character,shape or design, but is preferably in the form of a plate with upwardlyprojecting fingers, which may be located in any suitable position in thebottom chamber A. In the present instance it is shown situated betweenthe base of the exhaust nozzle 11 and the adjacent end of the bottomflue of the boiler.

The exhaust pipe or nozzle is provided with a top formed with an annularpassage 19 and a series of upwardly facing orifices 20, the passage 19being connected to a blast pipe 21, as best illustrated in Fig. 2, so asto discharge steam upwardly into the updraft pipe, thus forming ablower. The nozzle is divided at its lower end into two chambers 22produced by a vertically disposed partition 23 extending through thebase of the nozzle and up into the body portion, said chambers beinglocated respectively over each cylinder exhaust port 30. The bodyportion of the nozzle is formed with forwardly and rearwardly facinghollow projections 2a which are covered by perforated plates 25. Throughthe hollow projections 24 there is a suction when the engines exhaustwhich from their position act more directly on the lower fire tubes orflues and greatly aid combustion in the furnace and generation of steamby drawing heated gases through these tubes.

It is well known that there is a tendency in locomotives, for cold airto be drawn in through the smoke stack, filling the front end of thearch and materially interfering with the draft and the proper combustionof fuel. This is prevented by the present invention, because the smokebox is divided by means of the crown sheet into two chambers, the lowerone of which is in direct communication with the stack, and the upperone having slight communication therewith through the annular space 9surrounding the upper end of the thimble 9. The available space,therefore, for the gas and smoke within the smoke box is reduced to suchan extent that while not interfering with the draft, so fills thechamber that cold air cannot enter thereinto from the stack. The upwardmovement, therefore, of these gases both from the furnace and from theengine tend to create a vacuum in the lower chamber and hence cause asufiicient draft through the fire to increase the combustion of fuel.

It is to be particularly noted that the inner wall of the upper portionof the thimble 9 stands close to and is of substantially uniformdiameter with the adjoining wall of the substantially vertical portionof the pipe 7, which, with said thimble, forms a part of the updraftpipe connected to the smoke stack of the locomotive. It is also to benoted, in this connection, that the opening or annular space 9 betweenthe thimble and the downwardly flared lower end 8 of the pipe section 7opens into the lower end of the section 7 from all sides inwardly andupwardly at oblique angles to the vertical line of the draft.

The movement of the steam and gases forwardly within the smoke stackwill cause a suction through the annular space 9, which it will beremembered, is disposed at an angle to the direction of the draftthrough the pipe. Air and gases, therefore, entering through saidannular space will tend to converge from the sides toward the center ofthe smoke stack and thereby tend to retard a too rapid movement throughthe stack, thereby reducing the draft on the fire and consequent wasteof fuel, an advantageous feature lacking in all other devices of thischaracter with which I am familiar.

Having thus fully described the invention what is claimed as new is 1.In a locomotive front end, a substantially horizontal crown dividing thesaid front end into upper and lower chambers, a downwardly taperingsmoke stack, an updraft pipe mounted in the upper chamber forming adownward extension of the smoke stack and having a like taper with aspreading lower end, a conical thimble projecting through an openinglarger than itself in said crown in spaced relation to the spreadinglower end of the updraft pipe, and a spark arresting basket shapedscreen in the lower chamber entirely surrounding the lower end of thethimble and attached to said crown exterior of the opening therethrough.

2. In a locomotive front end, a substantially horizontal crown dividingsaid front end into upper and lower chambers, a downwardly taperingsmoke stack, a base for said stack projecting into the upper chamber andforming a continuation of said stack and tapered like it, an updraftpipe mounted in the upper chamber forming a down ward extension of thesmoke stack and having a like taper with a spreading lower end, aconical thimble projecting through an opening larger than itself in saidcrown in spaced relation to the spreading lower end of the updraft pipeand having a short cylindrical upper end, the inner diameter of which isthe same as the lower tapering end of said updraft pipe, a sparkarresting basket screen in the lower chamber entirely surrounding thelower end of the thimble and attached to said crown exterior of the opening therethrough, and an exhaust pipe projecting through the bottom ofsaid spark arresting screen co-axially with the updraft pipe and spacedbelow the same.

3. In a locomotive front end, a substantially horizontal crown sheetdividing said front end into upper and lower chambers, a downwardlytapering smoke stack, the base for said stack having a tubular portionpro jecting into the upper chamber and forming a continuation of saidstack and having the same taper, an updraft pipe mounted in the upperchamber forming a downward extension of the smoke stack and having alike taper, an outwardly flaring flange on the lower end of said updraftpipe, a conical thimble projecting through an opening larger than itselfin said crown sheet having a short cylindrical upper end projecting intosaid flange and spaced a short distance from the lower end of saidupdraft pipe and of the same internal diameter as said lower end, andmeans connecting said thimble to said flange whereby a passageway isleft between said parts through which passageway air currents areadapted to pass and converge a short distance above said thimble, anexhaust nozzle in axial alinement with the updraft pipe and smoke stackspaced below the thimble, and a spark arresting screen entirelysurrounding the lower end of the thimble and the upper end of saidnozzle and attached to said crown sheet exteriorly of the openingtherethrough and to the nozzle below its outlet.

4. In a locomotive front end, a substantially horizontal crown sheetdividing said front end into upper and lower chambers, a front sheetconnected to the front edge of said crown and to the shell of the frontend above said crown sheet, a deflecting sheet attached to the rear endof the crown sheet and to the front tube sheet of the boiler, a draftsheet adjustably connected to the lower end of the deflecting sheet, adownwardly tapering smoke stack, an updraft pipe mounted in the upperchamber attached to said stack and having a like taper, an outwardlyprojecting flange on the lower end of said updraft pipe, a conicalthimble projecting through an opening larger than itself in said crownsheet and in spaced relation to the spreading lower end of the updraftpipe, an exhaust nozzle below said thimble in axial alinement with thestack, and a spark arresting screen surrounding the thimble and upperend of the nozzle and attached to the latter and to the crown sheet.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LAWRENCE c. MOONEY. [L.s.]

Witnesses:

WM. T. SEIBELS, A. H. AvnINcroN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

